Revealed: Why Mitch Pinnock's 'outrageous' derby winner against Peterborough was not a total fluke

It may have looked a wild swing of the boot and more in hope than expectation but Mitch Pinnock’s audacious winning goal in Saturday’s derby against Peterborough United did not come about entirely by accident.

The game was heading for a goalless draw as the clocked ticked towards 90 minutes when the ball dropped to Pinnock wide on the right side some 40 yards from goal. He hooked a first-time volley over his shoulder and back towards the penalty box, but caught it so sweetly that it deceived goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic and crept over the line, triggering scenes of jubilation and give Cobblers their first derby win since 2006.

It may have looked a wild, hopeful punt – and it definitely wasn’t pre-planned – but perhaps Pinnock had Jon Brady’s words about the Posh goalkeeper’s positioning in his mind as he let fly.

"To be fair, when we were watching clips of them in the week, the gaffer did say, if you get a turnover in midfield, the goalkeeper is miles outside of his goal,” revealed Pinnock. “It was something we looked at.

"I actually text my mates this morning telling them ‘I bet you I score a goal from the halfway line or around there with a lob’ – I’ve still got the message on my phone to prove it! It fell to me in that position and it was just instinct when it came to me.

"I don’t normally score in the first few games of the season but I should have scored the other night, I was a bit annoyed with that, but maybe I should stick to shooting from further out because they seem to go in more than when I’m closer.”

There was some doubt as to whether it crossed the line but not from the linesman, who flagged immediately as Town claimed a dramatic, long overdue victory over their fierce rivals from Cambridgeshire.

"I couldn’t see if it went over the line,” Pinnock added. “I just saw the linesman flagging and I was buzzing. (Lee) Burgey was up there and he said it was in so I’ll take it!

"You could see how much it meant to the fans and we were desperate to win for them because we know it’s been a while. We put in that extra little bit so hopefully they've all gone home happy today.”

Brady backed up Pinnock’s story, saying: "In the week we did analyse it because their goalkeeper is aggressive in his starting position, but to do what he did from where he did was outrageous. Hopefully now they won’t be going on about Sammo’s goal anymore – thank god!”